THE WALL

VFI brings Traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial to Venice Beach

In an effort to raise awareness about the multiple problems confronting our veterans from all eras – from homelessness to the increasing incidence of Secondary PTSD amongst their children – VFI brought the Traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial to Venice Beach, California. One of the most recognized and visited urban beaches in the world, Venice provided an incredible opportunity to bring these issues to a wider audience. Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin and state Senator Ben Allen were on hand to speak to these issues.

Having twice before brought “The Wall That Heals” to the Los Angeles area, VFI was readily offered the opportunity by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and partnered with the Venice Chamber of Commerce to secure Windward Plaza as the host site. The installation took place at the Venice Beach Recreation Area with the proud cooperation of the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

“The Wall That Heals” arrived with full LAPD motorcade on Wednesday, March 2nd and remained until Sunday March 6th. A brief ceremony was held on March 4th to commemorate the importance of the memorial’s visit. Hosted by Venice Chamber of Commerce President Carl Lambert, the ceremony began with a moment of silence to recognize the sacrifice of not only the 58,000+ names on the Wall but also of all our service members in conflicts before and after Vietnam.

Longtime VFI celebrity ambassador, Lee Reherman – better known as “Hawk” from the hit tv show American Gladiators – was also recognized for his contributions to our veterans and service members. Reherman had hosted VFI’s previous productions involving the Wall; he passed away unexpectedly the day the Wall arrived in Venice.

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You should know...

20% of the soldiers who’ve been deployed in the past 6 years have PTSD. That’s over 300,000.